Electric lighting apparatus



(No Model.)

H. B. GALE.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS. No. 319,573. I Patented June 9, 1885.

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U ITED STATES PATENT Erica.

I HORACE B. GALE, QF NATIGK, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS.

EJ'PEQIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 319,573, dated June 9, 1885.

Application filed March 27, 1885. (No model.)

To all 1072,0112, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Hermon B. GALE, a

, citizen of the United States, residing at Naconnected in series.

- to replace it.

The main purpose of the device is to provide a'ready means for restoring the continuity of the circuit through a series of lamps when it has been interrupted from any accidental cause, such as the breaking of a lamp, the object being to relight all the lamps but the defective one. The latter is thus identified, and may be at once replaced. It will be seen, however, from the description which follows, that the invention serves other useful purposes, and may be used not only with are or incandescent lamps or their equivalents in an ordinary series circuit, but is also useful in the cross-circuits of a system in which the translating devices are connected in series. I have found the invention to be more practicable and useful in connection with a series of incandescent lamps, and I have illustrated it as applied to them. When any lamp in a series gives out, either through the destruction of its carbon or other cause, the continuity of the circuit is interrupted, and all the other lamps are extinguished, which often makes it a difficult matter to ascertain which one of the series of lamps has failed in order It has been the custom heretofore to provide each lamp with a resistance and cut-out, or a device that brings into the circuit a resistance equivalent to the lamp when the latter is extinguished. By my apparatus I dispense with the resistance commonly used for replacing lamps, and produce acheaper and equally practicable means for replacing the extinguished lamp. I use for this purpose a series of insulated terminals and a connecting device-p'referably a sliding contact-stripcapable of connecting any two adjacent terminals. These terminals are permanently connected with the circuit at points between the lamps included therein. By this means, when a lamp is extinguished and the circuit is broken, it will be closed againwhen the sliding contact bridges the terminals that complete ashunt about the extinguished lamp. By some distinctive features this position of the contact may be made to indicate the defective or exhausted lamp, which may be readily replaced. I may operate the contact by hand, or partly by hand and partly by mechanical devices automatic in their action, or entirely by automatically-operating mechanism and without adding materially to the number of parts or the difficulty of operating .the device I may provide for maintaining in the circuit the same resistance when the circuit is closed after the destruction of a lamp as before, and for securing other useful results, the nature of which will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a simple embodiment of my invention adapted to be operated by hand. Fig. 2 is a modification of the same, partly manual and partly automatic 5 and Fig. 3 is a second modification of an automatic apparatus by means of which the invention is or may be carried into effect.

Referring to Fig. 1, L L L" L represent electric incandescent lamps or other similar translating devices arranged in series in a given circuit. Should one of these lamps give out, all the others are extinguished, and it would be a matter perhaps of difficulty to ascertain which one of the series of lamps had been extinguished. To ascertain this readily I use an apparatus which consists of a series of metal contacts or terminals, as a bade f, secured to a suitable base, and these are con nected with the circuit m n at points between the lamps in regular order or succession.

In conjunction with the contacts a b c, &c., is a pivoted arm, h, carrying a metal strip or springplate, L, that bears against the con tacts. The strip is capable of spanning any two adjacent contacts or plates, but not more. If one of the lamps, as L", be extinguished, so that all the rest go out, the circuit will be reestablished by turning the arm h until plates (1 c are connected, these being the terminals of a shunt around the lamp L. All the lamps except If are thus relighted. The defective or exhausted lamp is thus at once indicated, and may be replaced by one of the several lamps, as L 1], which, as a matter of convenience, are kept on brackets on the apparatus. The circuit may then be restored to its original condition by moving the connectingarm back to its normal position at h.

As it may often be desirable to keep a uniform resistance in the circuit at a when the lamps are running, I use a lamp, L, in series with the others, which is, however, shortcircuited by the strip k in its normal position. This lamp is preferably placed on or near the apparatus, and not only takes the place of one which may give out, but indicates, by becoming incandescent, when the circuit is closed through the others by the strip 76. In lieu of this lamp an ordinary resistancecoil may be used, or resistances 1' r may be used in addition to it to prevent the full flow of current through it. The arrangement of the resistances 1' a" in derivation, as shown, also provides a path for the current should the lamp Lgive out. The

series of lamps are connected with the generator or feeding-main Zby a switch, 9, that is arranged to bear 011 contact-terminal a. In order to reduce the amount of light given by the lamps, the arm It may be turned to any position, in which it rests in contact with only one of the terminals. The lamp L or other suitable resistance is thus added to the circuit.

The apparatus may also be used to put out any one lamp of a series without affecting the others by placing the handle in the proper position to short-circuit that lamp.

In Fig. 2 the arm h is carried by a shaft, to which motion is transmitted by a volute spring, S. By means of a ratchet-wheel fixed on the shaft with the arm 71, and a pawl carried by a gear-wheel, otherwise free on the shaft, this motion may be communicated through a train of gears to the shaft 11, carrying a fan, 20, to retard the motion of the train, and to an iron disk capable of a certain vertical movement in its bearings, and arranged to revolve between the poles t t of an electro-magnet. XVhen the current is flowing through the lamps, the disk is held against the poles t, and the train of gears locked. Should a lamp give out, the disk at is dropped, and the train set in motion, the arm it being thereby turned until it bridges or spans the contacts connected with the circuit on opposite sides of the defective lamp. The moment that this takes place the magnet is again rendered active and the train again locked. When thelamp is replaced, the arm h may be turned back to its normal position without turning the disk u, by reason of the ratchet and pawl.

A device for interrupting the circuit through the lamps is here shown, that consists of a spring, 9, that bears against a stop, 00. hen the arm h has moved into the posit-ion in which strip or spring it bears only on the last terminal, f, a pin, 1), on arm 7b comes in contact with spring and moves it into the position Shown at g. The circuit being still maintained to spring 9, through the metal arm h, is broken when the strip leaves the terminal f. In this way a spark at X is prevented. As the arm h cannot be moved to the right unless the disk to be free to move, and as it may be sometimes desirable to so move it, to introduce the additional resistance of lamp L, for example, I combine with the magnet that locks the disk a a shunting or short-circuiting key, 11

It is evident that the operation of the de vice above described depends upon the cessation of current in circuit at a, which may be due either to the failure of a lamp or the stopping of the dynamo. \Vhenever the arm is set in motion by any cause outside of the series of lamps controlled by the switch, it will move around until it strikes a stop, 2, thus breaking the circuit through the lamps. Before the lamps can be lighted again it is neces sary to set the handle back to the position shown in unbroken lines.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a device which, by the addition of a second magnet, is caused to operate only by the interruption of the circuit at some point in the series of lamps, as by a failure of one of the latter. This device consists of an electro-magnet, t, which, when excited, raises its armature, which is arranged as a lockingpawl, and releases a ratchetwheel on the shaft-carrying arm h and impelled by a spring, as before described. This magnet is in a circuit from the arm h and the armature of magnet t the coil of which is in series with the lamps. The circuit through magnet t is broken while magnet t is ener gized, but is closed as soon as it becomes inactive. If a lamp fails, the magnet t is energized and the arm h permitted to turn. As soon as the strip which it carries closes the circuit around the extinguished lamp, however, the magnet t is energized and the ratchet-wheel controlled by magnet 25 is locked.

It is now obvious that the mechanism entering into this invention may be very greatly varied, and I do not confine myself, therefore, to any of the specific forms shown and described.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with a series of electric lamps, of a group of terminals, means for connecting said terminals, and electrical connections from the terminals to the circuit, whereby a path for the current may be closed around each of the lamps successively, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with a series of electric lamps, of a group of insulated terminals connected to points of the circuit between the lamps, a movable contact for connecting the terminals, and a device carrying said contact, whereby a path for the current may be closed around each of the lamps successively, as herein set forth.

3. The combination, with a series of electric lamps, of a group of terminals connected to the circuit in the manner described, a movable contact-maker for connecting said termi- IIO nals and successively shunting each lamp, a circuit-breaker in the lamp-circuit, and manual or automatic means for operating both the contact-maker and circuit-breaker, substantially as herein set forth.

4. The combination, with a series of electric lamps, of a group of terminals connected with the circuit in the manner described, a contact-maker for connecting'the terminals, and thereby shunting the lamps successively, and a lamp or its equivalent in the circuit between the two terminals, connected by the contact-maker in its normal position when the circuit through the series of lamps is complete, as herein set forth.

5. The combination, with a series of electric lamps, of a group of terminals connected with-the circuit in the manner described, a contact-maker for connecting the terminals, and thereby shunting the lamps successively, impelling mechanismsuch as a spring'for moving said contact-maker, and one or more electro-magnets for controlling the action or operation of the impelling mechanism,as herein described.

6. The combinatiomwith a series of electric lamps, of a group of terminals connected with the circuit in the manner described, a contact-maker for connecting the terminals, and thereby shunting the lamps successively, impelling mechanismsuch as a spring-for moving the contact-maker, an electro-magnet inthe lamp-circuit for controlling the action or operation of the impelling mechanism, and a circuit around said magnet with means for controlling the same, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of March,-1885.

HORACE B. GALE.

Witnesses:

EDMUND H. HEWINS, ANTHONY 0. WHITE. 

